Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, has altered its plans for the IPO of its Jio Platforms. Instead of allowing foreign investors to sell shares as initially intended, the company is now focusing on a pure capital increase, according to Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
Jio Platforms owns the world's second-largest telecommunications company by subscriber count, behind China Mobile. Its investors include Meta, Google (Alphabet), and Vista Equity Partners. The IPO is considered one of the most anticipated in India and could become the largest in the country.
Initially, Jio Platforms had agreed with its foreign investors that each could sell eight percent of their shares as part of the IPO, totaling 2.5 percent of the company. This so-called Offer-for-Sale would have allowed new investors to enter without the company raising fresh capital. However, this plan has been abandoned, as confirmed by the two sources, who requested anonymity as they are not authorized to speak to the media.
Instead, Reliance now aims to raise fresh funds equivalent to 2.5 percent of the company's value. "The investors were not interested in selling their shares and wanted to remain invested for the long term," one of the sources said. The Economic Times was the first to report on the reorientation of the IPO. Jio Platforms did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
